MICROSOFT
Surface laptop for just £ 499 (37% off)
Yes, the Microsoft Surface Laptop launched way back in June 2017. There's a second gen model, the Surface Laptop 2, that appeared last year but unfortunately this is not it. That said this £ 499 deal for a brand new example of the original model is insane value for what is physically, still one of the sweetest looking laptops on the market.
Much of the appeal of the Microsoft Surface Laptop is indeed material. The build quality is positively luscious, with its aluminum lid and body, plus that unusual fabric palm rest and keyboard cover really does give it a unique appeal.
Then there's the screen. It's a bright and vibrant 13.5-inch PixelSense touchscreen display, reinforced with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 for protection against scratches. It packs in 2.256 by 1.504 pixels, which translates into an excellent (for a laptop) pixel density of 201ppi (pixels per inch).
In terms of physical desirability, it's right up there with Apple's finest portable computers. That's quite something for less than £ 500. As for downsides? Well, this is the entry level model with an older Intel Core M-5Y70 CPU. It's a dual-core chip with a max turbo speed of 2.6GHz, so it's not going to be ripping its way through any CineBench R15 benchmarks any time soon. Thing is, it's plenty for most day-to-day computing tasks. If you do not expect to tear through 4K video transcode or play serious games, you'll be fine.
More of an issue is the lack of a USB Type-C port. In this day and age that makes the one Microsoft Surface Laptop feels a little dated. For some, however, the most problematic shortcoming is the 4GB of system memory found in this model. It's not upgradeable, it's soldered to the motherboard, and it will limit performance in some multi-tasking scenarios.
| Screen | 13.5-inch, 2256x1504 |
| CPU | Intel Core M-5Y70 @2.6 GHz |
| Memory | 4GB DDR3 |
| Storage | 128GB SATA SSD |
| Battery Life | 11 Hours |
| Connectivity | USB 3.0, MiniDisplayPort |
| Warranty | 1 Year |
No question, this particular configuration of the Microsoft Surface Laptop has its limitations sure. The 4GB of non-upgradable RAM is a pity. But for most users, most of the time, that'll actually be fine. For web browsing, document editing, watching movies on the move, it's all dandy. As is the 128GB SSD hidden inside too.
The stuff that matters all the time - the screen, the 11 hours of battery life, the build quality - is all top notch. To get access to what feels like a premium laptop experience for so little money is a rare opportunity. And our nitpick from earlier? The lack of a USB C drive? Well even the latest second-gen Surface Laptop 2, just so you know, still lacks a USB Type-C port and the base model of that goes for almost twice the cost at £ 910. There's also no word on whether that's the next-gen spec rumored to be AMD's powered surface will either go. Ultimately, if you understand the limitations of the config on offer and live with them, for £ 500, that's one stomper of a deal for an entry level notebook. by Jeremy Laird
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